The Prayer at Jordan–Hare was a touchdown from a Hail Mary pass thrown during a college football game between the Auburn Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs, played on November 16, 2013, at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn in the 117th installment of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
Down 38–37 against the No. 25-ranked Bulldogs with 36 seconds remaining in the game, the No. 7-ranked Tigers faced 4th down and 18 yards to go when junior quarterback Nick Marshall threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Ricardo Louis. The pass was accidentally tipped by Georgia's sophomore safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and freshman Tray Matthews as each tried to catch the ball. This accidental deflection surprised Louis, but it allowed Louis to catch the ball and to run away from both Harvey-Clemons and Matthews into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. The score allowed Auburn to take a 43–38 lead that it held to break the tie in the all-time Georgia–Auburn American football series.
Name As teammates sprinted to congratulate Ricardo Louis in the end zone, Auburn IMG Sports Network commentator Rod Bramblett exclaimed "A miracle in Jordan-Hare! A miracle in Jordan-Hare!" in utter jubilation, his voice carried across the nation on radio stations broadcasting the game. Within four days, T-shirts were being sold with Bramblett's words "Miracle at Jordan-Hare" printed across the top. Other sources modified the phrase, The War Eagle Reader dubbing the moment "The Miracle in Jordan-Hare," The Gadsden Times proclaiming the play "Marshall's Miracle" and USA Today pitching several titles including "The Marshall Miracle."
On the same day, at 10:44 p.m. CST, a story entitled "The Prayer at Jordan-Hare! Auburn wins 43–38!" was posted to the website of Huntsville's NBC affiliate WAFF. Within days the title had been replicated or simultaneously concocted by writers with The Birmingham News, USA Today, The Montgomery Advertiser, WRBL in Columbus, Georgia and Fox Sports among many others. The phrase gained popularity among Auburn fans, the slogan incorporating their stadium with a catchy rhyme and the phrase seemingly intertwined with the 1986 Bon Jovi hit "Livin' on a Prayer," a popular anthem played at Auburn football games. Many titles sprung forth over the following week including "The Hail Aubie" in reference to the name of Auburn's mascot tiger, "The Saint Louis Arch" fusing the receiver's surname with the arc-like path of Marshall's throw as a pun on the famous landmark arch in St. Louis, "Tip to the Lou" as an alteration of the children's song "Skip to My Lou" and "The Inaccurate Reception" as a modification of the renowned "Immaculate Reception" in the 1972 AFC semifinals.
The website AL.com posted an online poll to allow fans to vote on the above titles, adding "Tip, Georgia, Tip" as a takeoff of the legendary game Punt Bama Punt, "Dawg Gone Miracle" as the victory came against the Bulldogs, "Nick of Time" using Marshall's first name, "The Miracle on the Plains" as the nickname for Auburn, Alabama is "The Loveliest Village on the Plains" penned by poet Oliver Goldsmith and "The Miracu-Louis Reception." The poll included another frequently published title "The Immaculate Deflection," one of the three most popular in voting results along with "Tip to the Lou" and "The Prayer at Jordan-Hare." The title was even printed on shirts and posters by various companies.
Rivalry
The Auburn–Georgia rivalry is one of the oldest in the NCAA, dating back to 1892. Because of this, it is nicknamed the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". Weeks before the 2013 Auburn–Georgia game, The Roosevelts website ranked this rivalry as the 13th greatest in college football. There were 116 matchups across 121 college football seasons preceding 2013. In the first meeting in 1892, Auburn won 10–0. In 1896, Georgia won 12–6 to complete its first undefeated season under coach Pop Warner. In 1916, Auburn won 3–0 after its kicker Moon Ducote kicked a 40-yard field goal off of Auburn player Legare Hairston's leather helmet. This resulted in a rule change clarifying that field goals must be kicked directly off of the ground. In 1942, Auburn handed Georgia its lone loss of the season, 27–13. That Georgia team would beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl and claim a national championship. In 1959, Georgia quarterback Fran Tarkenton led a comeback to a 14–13 Georgia victory, as Georgia snapped a 6-game losing streak in the series. In 1982, two future Heisman Trophy winners faced off in this game, Georgia's junior running back Herschel Walker and Auburn's freshman running back Bo Jackson. Walker led No. 1 ranked Georgia to a narrow 19–14 defeat of unranked Auburn. In 1983, Auburn's 13–7 victory over Georgia resulted in the Tigers claiming an SEC championship. In 1986, Georgia won as three-touchdown underdogs at Auburn 20–16. When Georgia fans stormed the field, the sprinkler system and hoses went off soaking people both on the field and in the stands. In 1994, Georgia ended Auburn's 20-game winning streak with a 23–23 tie, the last tie in the series before overtime was introduced. In 1996, Georgia defeated Auburn in four overtime periods 56–49, 4OT; it was the first SEC game to go to overtime. In 2002, No. 7 Georgia defeated No. 22 Auburn 24–21 to secure its first SEC Championship Game appearance. Georgia would win its first SEC championship since 1982 later that season. In 2004, No. 3 Auburn defeated No. 8 Georgia 24–6. That Auburn team would finish an undefeated (13-0) season with a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl and claimed a national championship.
On November 16, 2013, No. 7 (BCS) Auburn (9–1, 5–1 SEC) hosted No. 25 (BCS) Georgia (6–3, 4–2 SEC) at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama with the series tied at 54–54–8. Auburn was seeking revenge for a 38–0 loss to Georgia the previous season.
Auburn had struggled in the 2012 season, the program's worst since 1950, finishing with a 3–9 record while going winless in the SEC. The team's plummet from a 2010 national championship claim to the bottom of the conference was the worst two-year decline for any college football team since the introduction of the Associated Press poll in 1936. This resulted in the firing of head coach Gene Chizik and hiring of Gus Malzahn. Adding insult to injury, on April 23, 2013, Auburn's landmark oak trees at Toomer's Corner were cut down, declared unsalvageable after being poisoned by Harvey Updyke, Jr., an Alabama fan, during the weekend of December 3, 2010. The 130-year old trees held a special place in the hearts of Auburn fans who rolled them with toilet paper after each football victory for at least forty years.
Game
The 2013 Auburn–Georgia game was held on November 16, and featured two programs moving in opposite directions. The Georgia Bulldogs, ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP Poll, had dropped to a disappointing No. 25 after losses to Clemson, Missouri and Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, the Auburn Tigers had been unranked until the 8th week of the season when they debuted in the AP Poll at No. 24, riding a six-game win streak in their ascension to the No. 7 spot by the Georgia game. Observers speculated that the return of the Bulldogs' starting running back Todd Gurley from an ankle injury would bolster Georgia's chances of an upset.
At 2:40 p.m. CST, with overcast skies and 66 degrees, Georgia's Marshall Morgan kicked off to Auburn whose 16-play, 56-yard opening drive stalled at the Georgia 5-yard line. The Tigers settled for a 22-yard Cody Parkey field goal. Auburn dominated the first half, scoring on five of their first six drives. With 1:07 remaining in the half, the SEC touchdown leader Tre Mason scampered for a 24-yard touchdown giving the Tigers a commanding 27–7 lead. Meanwhile, Georgia had gone three-and-out on three of their first four drives. They rounded out their final two drives by throwing an interception and scoring a late field goal to make the halftime score 27–10. Both teams squandered an opportunity for three additional points during the game, points that would have been crucial to the outcome of the game. With 3:10 left in the 2nd quarter, Auburn's Cody Parkey had a 36-yard field goal attempt blocked. In the 3rd quarter, Georgia elected not to allow sophomore kicker Marshall Morgan to attempt what would have been a 56-yard field goal despite the fact that he had hit that distance before. Instead Georgia elected to keep their offensive players on the field for the fourth down play—an incomplete pass thrown by Murray. This resulted in Auburn's offense getting the ball.
Through the first 50 minutes of the game, Auburn had scored on seven of nine possessions with 29 first downs building a 37–17 lead. In contrast, when Georgia began their first possession of the fourth quarter they had only reached the end zone once on their previous six drives. Auburn maintained that 20-point lead until 9:35 left in the game when Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior Rantavious Wooten to cut the deficit to 13 points. After another touchdown and trailing 37–31, Georgia's offense started at Auburn's 45-yard line after a short punt, and drove 38 yards setting up 1st-and-goal at Auburn's 7-yard line. The drive stalled when the Bulldogs gained only two yards on three plays. The Bulldogs elected to keep their offensive players on the field for the 4th down and goal play. Aaron Murray ran 11 yards line on a quarterback sneak to score a controversial touchdown that gave Georgia a 38–37 lead. When instant replay was shown, some thought Murray's left knee made contact with the ground prior to the football crossing the goal line after colliding with Auburn defenders Jake Holland and Ryan Smith. That would have nullified the score and Auburn's offense would have taken over on downs with a 6-point lead. However, the officials unable to find indisputable evidence to overturn the touchdown ruling on the field. The officials counted the touchdown, which was Murray's last score away from Georgia's home field. Overall, Murray would lead his team to three touchdowns in the span of 7:46, the final touchdown giving Georgia their first lead of the game with 1:49 remaining.
While the Bulldogs had scored on three consecutive drives, Auburn failed to earn a single first down in the entire fourth quarter until one minute remained on the clock. After the ensuing kickoff, Auburn's offense took over at the 22-yard line having scored only three points in their previous four drives. Their stagnant offense had not found the end zone in over 23 minutes of play and had only crossed the 50-yard line once since their opening drive of the second half. After gaining a first down at their own 35-yard line, Auburn lost eight yards on the next three plays culminating with Jordan Jenkins' sack of Nick Marshall. With 36 seconds left, Auburn used its second of three timeouts to discuss their fourth down play. As Auburn retook the field, Georgia used its first timeout to discuss their fourth down defense. Auburn needed 18 yards for a first down that would keep their chance for a victory alive.
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